bigstew

It was my house. They wrecked my doors and turned the house upside down. Complete mess and a joke. They don't even tidy up afterwards!!

Weren't they also called Dulwich Cars and then APT? I think they're great for airport service and do turn up when they say they will.

Sorry but I haven't got the time to read everyone's posts as this is a long thread. Hopefully i'm not about to mention something already on here. Firstly, i've built an Academy so I know quite a bit about them and the system. I'm also involved in the tendering process for new academies and am aware of the new Harris Academies. I say Academies as there are four to be built. 2 in the Dulwich area and 2 in the Crystal Palace area. This was the case last I heard but may have changed, as these things often do. Someone mentioned the Government put in ?30mil and the sponsor ?2mil but this is way off the mark. They put in nearer ?10mil in some cases so they do make a valued investment in the scheme. Basically the thinking is, if you create the right environment, provide the right teaching, education improves. The need for the new schools is obviously the 'right environment' part of the thinking. The facilities in the Academies are state of the art and nothing like when I left School 14 years ago. They are also built with sustainability in mind and lean towards greener construction and maintainence methods where they can afford to. Victorian buildings look fantastic, there's no doubting that and they are a huge part of the 'Britishness' of our culture. Unfortunately, that where the benefits stop. They are expensive to maintain, as they're generally all around the 100 year mark now, and they're diffucult to adapt to house new technologies. It's a shame but some of them have to go. Some of them will stay though, as converted apartments and offices and in their original use and this is fine. However, if you need a new school which Dulwich does, it needs a home and if you're going to spend all that cash it must operate at it's peak for many years without need for alteration or major overhaul. Victorian schools can't do that and never will. I've been to three Academies recently and one of them, Chelsea, which hadn't yet been built and had an old Victorian School still on the site was being massively contested by the local residents. No one wants a two year building project outside their home and kids running around everywhere but unfortunately, someone has to have it. If anyone wants to know more about these Academies, ring one up and ask them for a look around. I recommend Bexley Business Academy as this is one of the most unusual teaching concepts ever tried. A fantastic building which is a Foster design and fully open plan. No corridors, no classroom walls, no offices (almost!). I also recommend Haberdasher Aske's Knights Academy in Grove Park which opened in March and in terms of technology and facilities is amazing. Anyone who remembers the old Malory School before it will know how good it is. Malory was a huge example of poor funding and why the system had to change. Or, you could post me a reply with any queries.